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This thread is for any questions you might have regarding the Episode IX treatment contest. You can also discuss ideas you might have for your story and get feedback on them. Feedback must be constructive. Any trolling, baiting, flaming, etc. will be dealt with severely. Remember DO NOT post your entire treatment here.

We have some of the most knowledgeable SW fans here so if there's anything you need to know while crafting your story (like "Where do Kyber crystals come from" for example) this is the place to ask.

This thread is for any questions you might have regarding the Episode IX treatment contest

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I would like to know how detailed you suggest us to be. I mean, in your view is it better with brief bullet points with what we want to happen or something more discursive? Should we also write the opening crawl? (It's just to have an idea, I know that you leave us freedom with it).

This thread is for any questions you might have regarding the Episode IX treatment contest

Click to expand...

I would like to know how detailed you suggest us to be. I mean, in your view is it better with brief bullet points with what we want to happen or something more discursive? Should we also write the opening crawl? (It's just to have an idea, I know that you leave us freedom with it).

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It's really up to you. Typically treatments give a detailed outline of each scene so I believe the average is about 40 pages or so. But you don't have to stick to that. I'd suggest not limiting yourself to any set number though. If you have an idea for how you want the film to play out then just start writing and see where it takes you.

For example, I’m thinking about this on the basis that Lucasfilm have made it a hard no that they will digitally create Leia, so I’m thinking about how to write around that, but wondering whether someone can just have a digital Leia and write a logical extension of what has happened in the ST so far without having to deal with how it would actually work on screen

He said it's up to us. But apparently people will write on average about 40 pages. So we must be quite detailed.

I have questions:
- do we know the extent of the FO army after TLJ?
- is there anything we need to know about the situation of other planets in the galaxy?
- is there any ally of the Resistance as far as we know?
I'm asking it 'cause I don't want to do anything that is not coherent.

40 pages? That's a lot. You can do a good treatment in way less. I would worry less about detail and more on character, pacing and atmosphere. Try and make it a good read. 40 pages of dense detail will more than likely bore everyone. If anyone is going to do this, don't make it a lore book. Fans love to fixate on minutiae and detail. Tell a good story instead.

This is very, very basic - and rules are there to help until they stop helping and you need to break them - but may help some who have never attempted a treatment before.

40 pages? That's a lot. You can do a good treatment in way less. I would worry less about detail and more on character, pacing and atmosphere. Try and make it a good read. 40 pages of dense detail will more than likely bore everyone. If anyone is going to do this, don't make it a lore book. Fans love to fixate on minutiae and detail. Tell a good story instead.

This is very, very basic - and rules are there to help until they stop helping and you need to break them - but may help some who have never attempted a treatment before.

This is fun. No idea how one goes about this sort of thing, Ive got a vague idea of how it will go, but a couple of more specific ideas of things to incorporate. Got two docs on the go - one is just a blotter of ideas, background info and general plot ideas which I jot down as and when and then the main treatment, which is two scenes in.

I have a question: Is strict adherence to canon important? I know nothing apart from the films and Aftermath, so does it matter if we contradict comic books and the like?

How much "world building" and descriptions of locations and "choreography" of action is necessary? I know this isn't a screenplay but the article that @Satipo posted is VERY helpful.

I keep changing my mind about one key element of the story I have but I think it's best to just go with it. After all, I'd say it's for fun rather than trying to come up with something that JJ will use lol.

Keep it to a minimum imo. Concentrate on what you want us to feel at every turn. Don’t choreograph punch by punch action for example. Give us the drama of the action and where you can root it in character. Location wise keep it lean as well. Enough to get the gist without bogging things down. If you can use brief, evocative and VISUAL descriptions that will help enormously. You want people to keep reading so hook them from the start the keep the turns and developments coming so we want to read the next line, para, page etc. But most importantly have fun with it. Also just get through it first. Get anything down at first. Then you can rewrite and make it good/ better.